New (used) 2022 GT Owner with Tesla wall charging problems (hot plug!)

[Leafnut]

Thanks for all the great replies. A hot climate (I'm in Texas) is definitely a charging issue for these cars.
So here's the update and my first contribution. I started with the assumption that it was the Teslatap was defective. I called them and spoke to Dave--very helpful and knowledgeable person.
He said that it was unusual that he ever has defects, unless the adapter is physically dropped or gets wet. Neither of those conditions applied to my situation.
He finds that when overheating is the case, it's usually due to inadequate wire size (inadequate 8 gauge VS adequate 6 gage). He suggested (as Rfc805 did) to change the amp limit to 40 on the Tesla charger, which I did. It charged for about 30% without a problem. I checked the handle temperature a few times during the charge and it was hot, but slightly cooler than charging @48A. Apparently, the Tesla home wall charger has 2 heat sensors (one at the wire junction, one at the handle) and will activate a shut down sequence when the temperature rises above 75C.
He also suggested that if this works, then I should swap my breaker from 60A to 50A to add an element of safety.
I'll keep you all posted if I discover anything else.

 

[Leafnut]

Another point to note is that I checked with my electrician and he confirmed that my wiring is the adequate 6 gauge. This problem must be stemming from the heat in my garage which was around 90°, when it was overheating.

 

[Adnillien]

I routinely charge in 100 degree plus temperatures with no issues and I know other owners in the area that also charge in hot weather. I very much doubt the issue is your car. It is likely the Teslatap in your case or the cable on your EVSE.

 

[Scotlings8]

I'm wondering if you have an industrial NEMA socket like Hubble or Bryant versus the standard ones from Home Depot, etc. I am in Texas, and my garage is often above 90, but the Air charges just fine. My buddy who was using a Home Depot outlet had the same problem as yours but it went away once he switched it to a Hubble. It would be worth a shot, if not already.

That’s the next move. I’m pretty sure mine is just from Home Depot or Lowe’s. I have resorted to leaving a fan on with the garage door open, the back man door open and both windows open. That has minimized the problem, but not completely fixed it. Hopefully a high quality plug will fix the issue.

 

[DeaneG]

That’s the next move. I’m pretty sure mine is just from Home Depot or Lowe’s. I have resorted to leaving a fan on with the garage door open, the back man door open and both windows open. That has minimized the problem, but not completely fixed it. Hopefully a high quality plug will fix the issue.

The correct receptacle is larger (needs a faceplate with a larger diameter hole), and will cost $50-100.
I see that Leviton now makes a $50 14-50 that says it is intended for EV charging. In the past I've used Hubbell's $60-75 14-50 receptacle.

Swap it before you find this: https://lucidowners.com/threads/another-close-call-with-leviton-nema-14-50.6899/

 

[kaz3320]

That’s the next move. I’m pretty sure mine is just from Home Depot or Lowe’s. I have resorted to leaving a fan on with the garage door open, the back man door open and both windows open. That has minimized the problem, but not completely fixed it. Hopefully a high quality plug will fix the issue.

Is your charger plugged into a NEMA outlet or is it directly wired to the breaker?

 

[Scotlings8]

The correct receptacle is larger (needs a faceplate with a larger diameter hole), and will cost $50-100.
I see that Leviton now makes a $50 14-50 that says it is intended for EV charging. In the past I've used Hubbell's $60-75 14-50 receptacle.

Swap it before you find this: https://lucidowners.com/threads/another-close-call-with-leviton-nema-14-50.6899/

Yikes! That’s my fear!!!

 

[rfc805]

The outlet is not relevant to the heat at the vehicle plug end.

If the plug at the outlet is getting hot, then yes, definitely address that. Otherwise it's not relevant to this at all.

 

[tonybot]

The outlet is not relevant to the heat at the vehicle plug end.

If the plug at the outlet is getting hot, then yes, definitely address that. Otherwise it's not relevant to this at all.

I think we are talking about two different issues. The OP talked about the vehicle plug end getting hot, but the NEMA outlet suggestion was for a different issue: the Lucid charger was blinking red for another owner. As I described in my response, I have seen this with Home Depot NEMA outlets for a friend, and the issue was fixed by switching to a better outlet.

 

[tonybot]

I have used the following Hubble and a cheaper
That’s the next move. I’m pretty sure mine is just from Home Depot or Lowe’s. I have resorted to leaving a fan on with the garage door open, the back man door open and both windows open. That has minimized the problem, but not completely fixed it. Hopefully a high quality plug will fix the issue.

The correct receptacle is larger (needs a faceplate with a larger diameter hole), and will cost $50-100.
I see that Leviton now makes a $50 14-50 that says it is intended for EV charging. In the past I've used Hubbell's $60-75 14-50 receptacle.

Swap it before you find this: https://lucidowners.com/threads/another-close-call-with-leviton-nema-14-50.6899/

I used the following Hubble outlet with a cheaper faceplate to go with it. As @DeaneG mentioned, your regular faceplate will not fit.

Hubbell Wiring Device-Kellems 50... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0137HMGGS?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Receptacle Wall Plate, Outlet... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C4NW6FK2?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Also, there is a meaning to the number of blinks by the Lucid charger. Please refer to this link for the error codes and meaning (page 11)

https://lucidmotors.com/media/document/lucid-mobile-charging-cable-na-user-manual.pdf

 

[Haggy]

Hello everyone,
Firstly, thanks for all your hard work early adopters and getting stuff figured out for us latecomers. The information on this site has proven to be very valuable.
I own a 2021 Tesla Model S long range, but after 6 months of Bluetooth not working and the Tesla service center trying to fix it in half measures, I gave up and started looking at the Lucid Air again. I bought a 2022 this weekend and drove it home getting accustomed to it and spending a great time with my daughter.
I love the car--especially after the 2.4.4 update! It drives, feels, and looks better than my utilitarian (masquerading as a luxury vehicle) model S.
Anways, 2 problems I've noticed and I'm hoping for some help from the forum.
Problem 1 (big problem): I own a Tesla wall charger that charged my model S @48A max with a 60A breaker flawlessly for years. I think it's a gen2 Tesla wall charger. From my research on the forum, I bought a teslatap mini 80A and tonight when I arrived home, plugged the tesla cable into the tesla tap, waited 30 seconds, then plugged the combination into the vehicle. It started charging right away @11Kw/h just like my Tesla. But when I came back to check on it 30 minutes later, the Tesla wall charger was blinking red three times while the green light charging indicators were flashing. Then, I went into the car and watched the Kw/h drop quickly to zero. When I went to unplug it, the tesla cable was extremely hot. I read that the 3 blinking red lights is a warning for an overheated cable or charging handle. Do any of you have any experience with this that could help me resolve this issue? Is my breaker too small? Is my wall charger inadequate? Is the teslatap malfunctioning? Should I just remove my wall charger and install a nema 14-50 instead? Or bite the bullet and install a Lucid Home Charging Station?
Problem 2: Driving home, listening to music via Bluetooth, the sound quality quickly deteriorated and became unlistenable. Parked the car, locked it, opened it 10 minutes later--works fine. Is this a known issue? Please advise.
Thanks in advance for any help and I greatly look forward to contributing to this forum once I get some experience and become more knowledgeable.

I have an older Tesla Wall Connector designed for 80A with 100A breakers. It works fine, but I also found that with the Lucid, I'm getting around 40 miles of range added per hour with a 14-50 outlet. Adding 200 miles of range overnight will give me many hours to spare. Going to 48A would perhaps save 50 minutes. For Americans who use cars an average amount, the difference would be more like 10 minutes per day. I still have a Tesla and is was easier for me to have a separate cable on the other side of the garage for the Lucid. It wasn't worth it for me to look for anything faster.

I can imagine some scenarios where a person has to add 400 miles and the extra 8A could make a difference, but I can't imagine a real life one that I'd ever encounter. Anybody who is driving hundreds of miles, arriving home with a low state of charge, and then plans of driving another 400+ miles as soon as the car is charged would be inconvenienced by the 40A limit, but I don't imagine that many people do that and would find adding an extra 1 1/2 hours or so to their time at home would be such a big factor and would happen so regularly that using a public charger in that circumstance wouldn't be good enough.

It's likely the adapter in your case, but if it isn't, you can open up the Tesla Wall Connector and there's a dial inside that can be used to set the maximum to 40A. I'd suggest finding the installation instructions for your particular model before doing that, because the dial is not labeled in amps.